In western Europe, France has a population that speaks French, and
includes minorities who speak Breton, Alsatian, German, Flemish, Italian,
Basque, and Catalan. The population of France is mostly Roman
Catholic.

The first mention of France in the history of the Church is a report of
a council meeting held at Nauvoo, Illinois, 6 May 1844, when it was voted
to send Almon W. Babbit there on a mission. For reasons unknown, Babbitt
never went. In a general conference of the British Mission held in
Manchester, England on 14 August 1848, it was resolved that William Howells
of Wales would be sent to France and Brittany to preach the gospel.

The French Mission was organized on 18 June 1849, and a month later,
Howells arrived in Le Havre, France. He experienced some frustration, but
on 30 July 1849, baptized Augustus Saint d'Anna, a "single, intelligent
young man." A month later Howells traveled to St. Malo, where, later that
same year, he baptized a man named Pebble and a young woman named Anna
Browse. Browse had been ill for years and her friends feared that her
baptism in the icy waters of the bay would end her life, but her illness
left after she emerged from the waters and her health was restored.

In February 1850, Howells traveled to Boulogne and distributed tracts
with greater success. The Boulogne-sur-Mer Branch was organized with six
members on 6 April 1850. On 18 June of the same year Elder John Taylor of
the Quorum of the Twelve and Curtis E. Bolton arrived in Boulogne,
accompanied by Howells. John Pack and two Englishmen called by Taylor to
assist in the work joined them a few days later. Over a period of a few
weeks, Taylor held several public meetings and debates with little success
before traveling to Paris.

While in Paris, the missionaries devoted their time to translating
Mormon literature into French and writing new tracts. They continued to
preach the gospel, but due to the difficulty with the language, the work
progressed slowly. However, by November 1850 there were a few people
desiring baptism, so on 8 December 1850 a branch was organized in Paris.

In December 1851, John Taylor appointed Curtis E. Bolton as president of
the French Mission. By this time there had been four branches established:
Paris, Le Grande Luce, Le Havre and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Opposition and
government restrictions due to the unsettled state of political affairs
under Napoleon III slowed progress. The government prohibited the
gathering of any more than 20 people, making it difficult for the
missionaries to hold meetings. Church members were also prohibited from
publishing materials expounding Mormon doctrine. John Taylor was forced to
leave the country when he defied the printing ban in 1851 with a tract
entitled, "The Kingdom of God." In 1852, the French translation of the Book
of Mormon was completed, but members were blocked by law from distributing
it.

The work continued very slowly over the next several years. In 1859,
Louis Adolphe Bertrand, a member of the original Paris Branch, was called
to preside over the mission, but in 1864, Betrand left France, bound for
Utah. The Emperor would not allow Mormonism in France and the mission was
officially closed with Bertrand's departure. After the mission's closure,
several attempts were made to re-establish missionaries in the country, but
none met with lasting success until the French Mission was re-organized in
1912.

In spite of the mission closure, in 1890 a unique group of Latter-day
Saint missionaries arrived in France. In the spring of that year John
Hafen wrote a letter to the First Presidency requesting that he and two
other aspiring artists be allowed to go to Paris to pursue their training
in the arts. They wished to gain the skill necessary to paint the murals
inside the nearly completed Salt Lake Temple. Their request was granted
and on 3 June 1890 Hafen, Lorus Pratt, and John B. Fairbanks were called as
"art missionaries." They arrived in Paris on 24 July of that year and were
later joined by Edwin Evans and Herman Haag. They studied at the Julian
Academy. They returned home in 1892 and immediately made plans to complete
the murals in the garden and world rooms of the temple. The murals were
completed, just in time for the dedication of the temple on 6 April 1893.

A meeting was held in Lille on 27 June 1909 by the missionaries of the
French Conference. It was attended by approximately 50 members. It was
the first meeting held by the Church within French boundaries since the
religious expulsion of the 1860s.

On 15 October 1912, the French Mission was re-organized with Edgar
Brossard as president. The mission, much larger in area this time,
included French-speaking sections in western Switzerland and southern
Belgium. Only two years later, with the threat of World War I, all
missionaries were withdrawn. After the war in November of 1919, Elder
George Albert Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve visited France to meet with
the Saints. Not until 24 February 1924 was the French Mission formally
re-organized with Russell H. Blood as president. It was headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland.

Missionaries worked hard to build the Church's image by getting involved
in the communities. Some helped by singing in groups while others played
on successful basketball teams. Two new branches were established in Lille
and Blois on 5 August 1930. The Mission headquarters were moved from
Geneva to Paris on 1 October of that year, and then from Paris to Liege,
Belgium, in 1936 because the majority of the converts were being found in
the Belgian District. From 1932 to 1936, branch after branch was closed
because fewer missionaries could serve due to the Great Depression. Golden
L. Woolf, mission president at the time, made an appeal to local members to
share the gospel in their own country. Many volunteered their time to keep
the work progressing. Members were encouraged by an increase in the arrival
of American missionaries in late 1936 and a visit by President Heber J.
Grant in June of 1937.

In 1939, at the onset of World War II, missionaries and mission
President Joseph E. Evans were evacuated. This left a local leader, Leon
Fargier, as the sole, active priesthood holder in France. With the
approval of priesthood leaders, Fargier almost single-handedly conducted
the affairs of the Church in France during the war. On foot or bicycle he
traveled around the country to members' homes, often across enemy lines, to
administer the sacrament, bless, baptize, confirm, confer the priesthood
and simply administer to the needs of the Saints.

After World War II, missionary worked resumed. Elder Ezra Taft Benson
of the Quorum of the Twelve arrived in April of 1946 to tour the French
Mission and assess the condition of the members and the country. One month
later, James L. Barker arrived to re-open the mission and re-establish its
headquarters in Paris. Over the next several years, missionaries continued
to arrive as did thousands of cases of food, clothing and bedding. These
supplies were shipped from Salt Lake City to support members and
missionaries suffering because of the economic crisis following the war.
Many branches were re-opened, while new ones were organized, including
Belfort, Toulouse, Lille, and Cannes.

On 13 July 1952, a mission-wide conference was held and was attended by
President David O. McKay, who was en route to Switzerland to announce a
temple in that country. Three months later, on 9 October 1952, the Church
was granted status by the French Government as "Une Association Etranger"
(A Foreign Society).

As of 1 January 1947, when missionary work resumed after the war, there
were 13 active branches in the mission, 754 members and 13 missionaries.

The late 1950s proved to be especially challenging for the French
Mission. It was soon discovered that a group of missionaries was studying
questionable doctrine rather than teaching the fundamental elements of the
gospel. A growing number of missionaries began to foster beliefs contrary
to the teachings of the Church. When mission President Milton Christensen
became aware of the apostasy within the mission, he notified the First
Presidency. Interviews were held with the missionaries involved to
discover their convictions. Nine were excommunicated and left the
mission.

In the years following the excommunications, Edgar Brossard served as
mission president and under his leadership, the mission reached the high
point of its history. In January of 1960, in anticipation of the new year,
mission leadership set a goal of 400 baptisms, more than twice that of
prior years. By June the goal had been surpassed and was revised to 800.
Total baptisms reached more than 900 that year.

In June 1960, a building project was announced for the construction of
chapels in Europe through the use of "labor missionaries." The Bordeaux
Chapel was dedicated by Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve
on 10 December 1965. Less than a year later, on 23 October 1966, the first
Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in the Paris area was dedicated. In the next
decade, land was purchased and chapels were completed in Sceaux, Nogent,
Nantes, Paris, Epinay, Rennes, Brest, Le Mans and Angouleme.

In 1961, the French-East Mission, later named the Switzerland Geneva
Mission was organized. It covered eastern France and the French- Speaking
portion of Switzerland. It was followed in 1963 by the formation of the
Franco-Belgian Mission, later named the Belgium Brussels Mission. This
mission covered northern Franch and the French-speaking portion of Belgium.
In 1970, the name of the French Mission was changed to the France Mission,
and in 1974 to the France Paris Mission. The France Toulouse Mission was
created from portions of the France Paris and Switzerland Geneva
Missions.

The Paris France Stake, the first stake in France, was created 16
November 1975. There were 28,454 members organized into seven stakes by
1996. President Spencer W. Kimball spoke to 4,200 members at an area
conference in Paris in 1976.

The France Bordeaux Mission was created in 1989, and the France
Marseille Mission was created 1 July 1991. They were later consolidated
into the France Toulouse and France Paris Missions in 2001.

President Gordon B. Hinckley visited and spoke in Versailles and Paris
on 4 June 1998, and again on 28 May 2004, as part of a European tour.
Speaking of temples, he encouraged the French members to be patient, and
told them that they were "worthy of the richest blessings of the Church"
and was confident that "sometime in the future a beautiful house of the
Lord [would] grace this land."

By 2002, membership reached 31,971; and 32,353 in 2003.

Sources: "Moments in History," Church News, 31 July 1971; "The Church in
Europe," Ensign, August 1973; J. Malan Heslop. "Church's Second Generation
Growth is Strong in France," Church News, 1 December 1973; John L. Hart,
"New Missions Are Evidence of Church's Dynamic Growth," Church News, 25
February 1989; Alain Marie, "Leon Fargier: His Faith Wouldn't Go
Underground," Ensign, September 1991; "New Areas Created in Asia, Europe,"
Church News, 7 September 1991; "You Are Worthy of the Richest Blessings: A
Temple Will be Built in France, Says President Hinckley" Church News, 5
June 2004; William Howell, Millennial Star, 1 September 1849, William
Howell, Millennial Star, 1 October 1849; William Howell, Millennial Star, 1
January 1850; William Howell, Millennial Star, 15 March 1850; William
Howell, Millennial Star, 15 May 1850; Curtis E. Bolton, Journal, Church
Archives; France Paris Mission, Manuscript history and historical reports,
Church Archives; Gary Ray Chard, A History of the French Mission of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1850-1960, 1965; Linda Jones
Gibb, "The Paris Art Mission," Pioneer, January/February 1994.

French Guiana is an overseas department of France located in northern
South America.

Charles Fortin, a native of French Guiana, was baptized in France and
returned to his homeland in 1980. Rosiette Fauvette, also baptized in
France, returned to French Guiana on 8 July 1981. She attended Sunday
meetings at Fortin's home in Cayenne. Charles Fortin introduced the Church
to many people before his death in April 1986. By then, several other
members were attending services, including Gerard Charpentier, who later
became the first branch president in Kourou. Meetings were then held in
the home of the Masinski family until January 1987 when they were moved to
Rosiette Fauvette's home in Kourou. In August 1987, the Francois Pratique
family moved from France to Cayenne and began attending meetings.

Elder Charles Didier of the Seventy visited on 4 March 1988 and
organized a group. On 5 November 1988, Serge and Christie Bonnoit of France
became the first converts in French Guiana. On 25 May 1989, the Kourou
Branch was formed and in August, the Cayenne Branch was created with
Francois Pratique as president.

In July 1989, the first missionary couple Wilbur and Jacqueline Wortham
arrived in the country. They were followed in November 1989 by A. Edward
and Louise P. Schmidt. The newly organized branch in Cayenne had about 23
members. On 27 February 1990, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of
the Twelve blessed the land and with Elder Charles A. Didier of the Seventy
visited branch members in both Cayenne and Kourou.

The Church has grown slowly in French Guiana due to members immigrating
to France and lack of sustained priesthood leadership. A chapel was
constructed in Cayenne and was dedicated on 18 March 1999 by West Indies
Mission president Kenneth J. Mason.

Membership in 2002 was 251.

Source: Rosiette Fauvette, Reminiscence, Church Archives; Jacqueline
Wortham, Our Mission in French Guiana, Church Archives; A. Edward and
Louise P. Schmidt, Interview, 14 October 2003, Church Archives; "Services
in 3 South American Nations and Island Republic," Church News, 10 March
1990; West Indies Mission, Manuscript history and historical reports,
Church Archives.